I never understood people who said they hate road trips. Don’t get me wrong— I’ve definitely been-there-done-that with the people in the car getting all bickery {I myself have been the grumpy one} but for the most part, road trips are a great time to entertain each other for a solid day. The car ride with Adam, Katie, Rachel and I flew by as we listened to Christmas music and laughed at each other. Highlights included when Adam went around the round about three times, Adam laying on the horn for deer that weren’t there when we were already in AZ {and on the way back, when we took an access road because of intense traffic and my mom suddenly imitated the “brrrrp” sound of the car driving over cattle grate}. Before we pulled into our own house, we surprised cousin Paige, who we haven’t seen since she came home from her mission for medical reasons. Oh how we missed her! Later in the week, Kendall, Paige, Rachel and I went out to dinner and watched a comedy, together again just like old times.
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| Rachel hiding her face from the light |
Right now my parents’ new house is in the middle of a giant remodel. The morning after we got there, Rachel woke up with her eye worse than it had been the past two eyes; now it was red and goopy. My parents panicked and took her to a local doctor, who seemed even more concerned than the Provo and switched her onto several all-new meds that she had to take several times throughout the day. She was basically crippled after that and spent about 95% of the rest of our trip in the darkest room of the basement with a blanket over her head because even the dimmest light was excruciating for her. This doctor got in collaboration with the Provo doctor and even made time for Rachel during off-hours in order to make sure the bacteria that had created the ulcer were getting demolished. Worse case scenario, Rachel could lose her eye, so there was absolutely no messing around. I tried to just be helpful…. I spent a lot of the trip in the kitchen either cooking or cleaning just because between taking care of Rachel, managing the remodel work and getting ready for Thanksgiving, everything was super hectic for my mama! She is so sweet, and went out of her way to try to find any sort of treat or whatever that might cheer up Rach.
On Thanksgiving, Aunt Susan hosted almost the entire extended family and, for the first time in Lundgreen holiday history, didn’t segregate by kid/teenager/adult tables but rather gathered every person at one table. After dinner, Rachel, Paige, Court’s new wife Linnea and I squeezed onto a bed in pitch-black room dark room to chat. Rachel and Kendall also bonded over crime podcasts, since Rachel could really only rely on listening for entertainment. That night, Mom took some of us girls to visit Paige at work.
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| the boys convinced Grandma to "dab" |
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| Sophie is now gluten free and insisted on getting Chick-Fil-A because she couldn't eat the chicken pot pie. She is so grown up. I used the drive to talk about the importance of positive body image. |
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| Olivia got scheduled to work the entire time we were there... dang it. |
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